Just when you think its time to put your feet up...

you receive more orders!

A few days before Christmas my dear old friend emailed me after he had been looking at bookstores for a recipe book for a gift. When he couldnt find what he was looking for, he called upon me. I felt honoured!

It was a Recipe book, double the size I normally do, lined pages and I have added five index cards if you will so she can organize her recipes. She can write on the tabs and keep the recipe book tidy. My friend wanted it to be pink so I chose this pink because I loved the end pages and was dying to use them. He also wanted her name in caps along the spine, so I printed on the paper I used before I bound the book. I love how it turned out!

While I was working on this, my aunt called me. For Christmas my dad had asked me to make an address book for each of his sisters, I gladly did as I adore them all! Well I received a thank you call and was asked to make 5 more! Thankfully they neednt be ready until April! I have a project Ive been working on for months that MUST be finished this January so Im glad I have time for the address books!

Wishing you all

A Very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!


I have been very busy the last few months creating new books and shipping out ones I have sold, its been a great month!

About a month ago my dad ordered 5 address books for his sisters and sister in law. They were a hit and one Aunt called today to thank me for making it and ordered 5 MORE! Im so excited! And then with two days to go before Christmas my old and great birthday sharing friend ordered a custom cook book to be ordered! *dont forget to breathe* lol


The cookbook is going to be blank so she can fill it out, but I am inserting removeable pages with tabs so she can organize her recipes. I think its going to be super awesome when its done. Now, just to remember to photograph it before it is picked up lol







Lately I have been trying to be more green in what I make so I have just listed two up-cycled books Ive made. I really do love them! One is made from an old VHS case that had a great pattern and a great shape to it. I did some cutting and sewing and VOILA! An awesomely shaped book with yellow coptic stitches! I really do love it. The other is also bound with a coptic stitch and the cover is cardboard I rescued from a close to being tossed in the recycling bin cookie box! I really enjoyed being creative with something that is already there, working with what you have and not being wasteful at all!




I can't wait for the next few months! They are going to be busy (just when I thought I would hit a lull and be able to relax) but Im soooo looking forward to it!

Its crunch time

Im in the middle of making some upcycled books that Im super excited about! Pics to come!

Please visit my shop at
http://www.bethr99.etsy.com/

Also, crunch time is hitting and I have a bunch of orders to go out, I love it. Please contact me if youd like to order something!

Cheers!

2 excuses and a whole lotta fun stuff!

Why has it taken so long for me to post anything? Well, my family is super sick right now which means that Im coming down with something but also that my care givers are sick in bed. Whats the second excuse you ask? Read on to find out!


The good news? I have new things to post!!!!!!!
(applause, applause)



This is the album I custom made for Tammy. Its a gift that she is giving her daughter after their first trip to Vegas together, something to hold all their memories in!


Its a Japanese punch stitch, the thread is braided embroidery thread which matches not only the idea of Vegas but the lettering on the cover. The pages are bound with spacers in between each page so when the book is filled with photos, the book won't become gaping and triangular, it will stay rectangular and awesome! This is where my second excuse comes in...the photographs I have taken are not up to par, but I know you get the idea of how fab these items are!

These are some of the awesome packs of tags and embellishments I have created. Not shown here? Easter, Back to school, two other sets of tags, Flowers, bugs, birthday. Use them for cards or scrapbook pages. OR add any of them to gift wrapping to make the gift extra special!

TO SEE MORE, VISIT ME AT http://www.bethr99.etsy.com/

HAPPY THANKS GIVING!

Its thanksgiving here in Canada and I am stuffed from all the food, gotta love it!

Im still working on the custom order which I will post pics of before it goes out, its going to be FAB! But in the mean time, here are some photos of books in my etsy store

I have fallen back in love with rubber cement. Less scary to work with that PVA, but you cant use it everywhere. PVA is still the strongest hold and archival, but the moments I can use rubber cement are sublime! hahah Such an easy clean up, I feel like Im cheating!

I am a few hours closer to freedom!

Hopefully in a few hours it will be my last visit with my homecare nurse and then I can get off of laying on this couch and get back to making books, first thing is first though, finishing the custom order album.

Ive been told on etsy that lower priced items are preferred. This is difficult. One, Ive always been told that I undercharge and two, the items I make are intricately made. I guess Ill go for a line of soft cover smaller books, see how those go. Something new is always fun!

Ive been brainstorming with all my time laying down but Im excited to see what shall come of it all!

Ah freshly out of the hospital

and back at home. Im still under the weather but wanted to touch base with this blog, it will get interesting soon, I promise!

I have etsy ring coming any day now, actually boughteb for me by a friend but Iwill post the ring and the etsy seller.

In just moments I will be going for try #3 for getting up and talking..fingers crossed.

I cannot wait until I can get back to making books and putting the final touches on the Las Vegas album special order!

In recovery mode

ugh i just posted and lost it all

i am newly home from surgery so this and my etsy store will be on the back burner until i heal more

i cannot wait to get back to things and post a proper entry here!

Twas a long day

but it twas also an excellent one!

House to myself, crappy television on in the background, and me sitting at my table, cutting away at the board for the custom album I am making. I cant wait until its finished and until I can not only take pics and post them but deliver it to Tammy and see her reaction!
So stoked!!!!!

Here is my fave book of the day. The cover paper was printed by a family in India whos trade is in textiles. There is some glitter to it and I have added a pendant I bought from pinkbubble at etsy to the end of the ribbon book mark. Check out her shop, its awesome!

Things I have bought lately

Ive been on a bit of a shopping kick lately but I love what I got

I bought this from Beaddoodles on Etsy

(Insert picture of card with flower on it ) This is from AlieKeegan, two gorgeous hand made cards, so nice I didnt want to give them away

This necklace I got from adrianita458. It was even more beautiful in person than the pics on her etsy page

I bought this from sweetpotatoanna. Cant wait to find a frame for this double exposure photo!

This lip balm from ParadiseSunrise is supposed to be the best out there. I havent gotten it in the mail yet, Im crossing my fingers for Monday's delivery!

These earings are custom made, I chose "purple velvet" for the colour of the stones. They were made by HannasHands on Etsy

Another card from AlieKeegan on Etsy. Upcycled and eco friendl7y, cant get better than that!

Ive been spending and need to get on the selling train!

Listening to: Gordon Lightfoot - If you could read my mind

Just me, my books and a cup of French Vanilla from Timmies

I'll be spending the weekend finishing the prototype of a new binding before I go ahead with Tammy's order for a scrapbook album. Im pretty stoked about the album and how its going to turn out! I hope she is too!

I have to deliver another custom order on Sunday, it was pre-ordered at the we shoot we score tournament. It is a telephone book that was custom made for him, different than the address books I make.

Once this new album order is finished, Ill be working on new inventory!

Listening to: Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna

Some people call me a bad apple

well I may be bruised but I still taste sweet ~ David Wilcox

Im in the midst of working on two custom orders. One is a telephone book and one is a scrapbook with a Las Vegas theme. I believe that I figured out how to do a Japanese punch binding with a hard cover, if so, this scrapbook is going to be awesome!

If anyone out there knows how to bind using Japanese punch with a hard cover, PLEASE let me know. Just in case, Im making a mini try at the technique I hope works!

Listening to Feist - Secret Heart

This was awesome

Posted by my friend Heidi on facebook, this video was totally inspiring to me!
I want to go draw and paint now!
(If you knew me youd know that I cant draw to save my life lol)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpunQZ4cUyI

I bought a new hat today

and its really kick ass! I love it.

It took me forever to figure out how to add pics to this thing

A computer whiz, I am not

Here are the pics of the books I sold at the weshootwescore tournament yesterday

This was a custom order for Mark Stewart who put together and ran the tournament. Please visit them at http://www.weshootwescore.com

This was sold to a dear friends mom, pages are printed with name, address, tel , email etc

This was sold to the lovely girl at the next booth over, I loved this book!

This one was re-covered, lined, had a ribbon book mark

Someone bought this as a gift for a friend

The sweetest woman bought this one, her and her husband were one awesome couple.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to support a cure for MS. Special thanks to Arlette and Mark for everything!

Tammy the Remax rep bought this one to include in a gift for a party she was on her way to

Yesterday was the greatest day

Yesterday I participated in the We Shoot We Score Tournament to find a cure for MS. I met some really awesome people there, although Im bummed I didnt get my picture with Johnny Bower
http://www.playerschoicesports.com/images/memorabilia/2003-01-22-johnny-bower-2890.jpg

I met some really awesome people there yesterday with some awesome stories of strength. The event was run by Mark Stewart and his wife Arlette and of course other wonderful people who put in a lot of hard work to get the day going.

I sold my books and donated 100% + of my profits but I wish I could have given more! Id love to participate again next year

please visit their site
http://www.weshootwescore.com

I sold another book!

Great news! I sold a mini address book
Of course this is good news for me, but bad news for you because you missed out on a kick ass book hahah

Just returned from the cottage

and my butt is so sick and tired of sitting lol

I added a few new books to my site, hoping someone will bite. They are awesome books, but no one is buying :(

This week is a busy week, ending with the WESHOOTWESCORE tournament where Ill be selling my books and donating all profits!

Still at it :)

I have made about 5 books this week, all listed at my store
http://www.BethR99.etsy.com

New papers used, some from India and Nepal
Help feed a starving artist lol

This week I decided to TRY twitter. Its not for me at all, sorry twitter, Im sure you are lovely for some people. Im just not that into you. I dont understand a)how to get people to look at your tweets and b)why people go on twitter and share things. For example, I do not care that P Diddy ate a hamburger today lol

Next week I am participating in a charity event to raise money for MS research. I will be selling my books in hope of making money and donating all profits to MS research. *fingers crossed*
The event is actually a hockey and softball tournament that I begged to sell at. Thanks to Mark Stewart at HTTP://WWW.WESHOOTWESCORE.COM . If you are in the GTA area, please come out!

Notebook/ Journal

This notebook is hand bound and has a black bookcloth spine, with heabands. Pages are blank inside, leaving the possibilities of its use wide open. The cover is black and gold, the interior of the book is the same paper.The pages were hand sewn using traditional french stitching in book binding. They were then reinforced with pva glue and fabric binding tape, making the book durable and archival quality. The finishing tough: traditional red and yellow headbands at the spine of the paper.

Dimensions:6 x 8 3/4 x 3/4"128 blank pages front and back

TO SEE MORE IMAGES IN GREATER DETAIL, VISIT MY WEBSITE!

Its a brand new day!!

Welcome to my blog. Today is day one.
I made hand bound books and portolios as well as boxes and a smackeral of art.

What is a smackeral you ask?
To me its a mish mosh of art, anything and everything!

Im working on a business card which is proving to be more trying that I had thought.

Please check out my site
http://www.BethR99.etsy.com